1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a unique construction for a relatively inexpensive bushing or grommet that can be installed into walls to provide sealing about individual cables or wires or around a number of small cables and/or wires or other linear penetrating members normally numbered no more than three. The bushing can also extend around to seal around a wire plug or cable plug. The bushing includes an internal foam seal which is designed to seal against the passage of smoke, flames or hot gases therethrough for achieving firestopping.
Heretofore such cables have been run through openings formed in the walls or floors and then sealed with the use of various mastic materials such as sealants or putties, some of which were for firestopping. Such openings are often sleeved in some circumstances with cables running through the sleeves and sealing materials are thereafter applied within and around the sleeve at the point where it penetrates through the wall or other barrier. These uses are limited in many ways because, for example, the sealants tend to adhere the cables with respect to one another and with respect to the opening through the wallboard which makes any changes needed to the cabling configuration at a later time quite difficult. Also, such mastic materials are usually applied by hand by skilled workers and this is a labor intensive activity requiring skill and the time required can be quite costly and the effective quality of the sealing is highly dependent on the skill of the technician. Also, these prior methods lack a finished overall appearance because the actual appearance of the final seal is very highly dependent upon the skill and diligence of the technician applying the mastic materials.
Many mechanical designs have also been designed such as rubber plugs or framing constructions designed to fit around one or more wires. Many of these constructions cannot be installed in typical gypsum board membrane walls because the wallboard lacks sufficient structural strength to restrain the expanding fixture especially when the fixture utilized is a rubber plug or similar design.
Usages of these above described designs are limited because many of them can only be placed upon the wire prior to placement through the wall because there is no capability for attaching the bushing or grommet to the wire after it has been positioned extending through aperture provided in the wall. Most such constructions are also designed for use with many different cables and larger cables and, thus, there is a readily apparent for use for a small inexpensive type grommet which can be easily be attached to cables, plugs or a plug used therewith after they have been placed extending through the wallboard as well as being capable of usage prior to positioning of the cable or cable plug extending through the wallboard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many prior art devices have been used for firestopping around cables extending through a wall and for sealing around said cables such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,583 patented Feb. 20, 1951 to W. T. Shea, Jr. on a “Cable-Sealing Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,091 patented May 23, 1961 to R. L. Hatcher and assigned to Noll Manufacturing Company on a “Cap Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,125,358 patented Mar. 17, 1964 to J. S. Kleinberg et al on a “Building Lead-In Connection For A Pipe”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,983 patented Apr. 19, 1977 to J. W. Pedlow on an “Electrical Arc And Fire Protective Sheath, Boot Or The Like”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,736 patented May 2, 1978 to L. P. Landrigan and assigned to Daniel International Corporation on a “Fire And Liquid Seals For Pipes And Conduits And Method Of Forming Same”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,649 patented Sep. 30, 1980 to R. L. Peterson and assigned to The Flamemaster Corporation on a “Fire Retardant Composition And Cables Coated Therewith”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,332 patented Jun. 30, 1981 to G. K. Castle on a “Fire Proof Cable Tray Enclosure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,917 patented Dec. 1, 1981 to L. A. Fermvik et al and assigned to Telefonaktiebolaget I. M. Ericsson on a “Method And Means For Fire-Sealing A Penetration For A Conduit”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,199 patented Dec. 14, 1982 to C. S. Kucheria et al and assigned to Kennecott Corporation on a “Fire Resistant Sealing System For Holes In Fire Resistant Buildings Partitions”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,577 patented Aug. 28, 1984 to R. R. Licht and assigned to Minnesota and Manufacturing Company on an “Intumescent Fire Barrier Material Laminated With Restraining Layer”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,173 patented Apr. 23, 1985 to R. P. Merry and assigned to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company on “Intumescent Fire Protective Sheaths”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,853 patented Oct. 22, 1985 to H. H. Bryan on a “Closure For A Surface Opening Having An Object Passing Therethrough And Method Of Forming The Closure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,745 patented Dec. 24, 1985 to J. B. Wexler and assigned to Fire Research Pty. Limited on “Devices For The Fire Stopping Of Plastics Pipes”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,170 patented Nov. 18, 1986 to K. R. Cornwall on a “Coupling”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,415 patented Dec. 23, 1986 to R. L. Attwell and assigned to Selkirk Division of Household Manufacturing Limited on a “Fire Stop”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,064 patented Jun. 26, 1990 to J. F. Gibb and assigned to Backer Rod Manufacturing And Supply Company on a “Fireproof Panel”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,077 patented Dec. 29, 1992 to G. Nurota and assigned to The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. on a “Fire Protecting Structure Of Channel Portion Of Plastic Piping In A Fire Partition”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,767 patented Sep. 20, 1994 to R. Roth on a “Fire Retardant Sleeve”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,465 patented Feb. 21, 1995 to J. A. Rajecki and assigned to The Lamson & Sessions Co. on a “Passthrough Device With Firestop”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,400 patented to H. E. Seymour on Sep. 5, 1995 and assigned to Xantech Corporation on a “Wall Penetrator Fitting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,174 patented Oct. 1, 1996 to Y. Goto and assigned to Home Co., Ltd. on a “Connector”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,202 patented Jan. 14, 1997 to M. A. Tobias on a “Split Sleeve System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,304 patented Jun. 3, 19997 to M. P. Sakno on a “Water Impervious Intumescent Firestop Collapsing Conduit”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,938 patented to M. A. Tobias on Mar. 24, 1998 on a “Wall Penetrator Sleeve System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,159 patented Sep. 7, 1999 to J. Takahashi and assigned to Tosetz Co., Ltd. on a “Fire Retarding Division Penetrating Member”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,329 patented Mar. 23, 2004 to Dd. J. Zelesnik and assigned to Parker-Hannifin Corporation on a “Flame Retardant Tubing Bundle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,718,100 patented Apr. 6, 2004 to D. D. Morris and assigned to Milliken & Company on a “Fire Resistant Conduit Insert For Optical Fiber Cable”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,876,797 patented Apr. 15, 2005 to D. D. Morris and assigned to Milliken & Company on a “Fire Resistant Conduit Insert For Optical Fiber Cable”.